President and Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Scholarship Appeal 2016

Empowering the next generation

Your donation to the President and Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Scholarship Appeal is more than just financial aid. It gives talented young minds a chance to study at UNSW and the opportunity to succeed. The President and Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Scholarship supports disadvantaged students from low socio-economic backgrounds, including rural students, Indigenous Australians, students with disabilities and students experiencing hardship. They receive $5,000 per year for the duration of their degree, paying for essentials like accommodation, food, text-books, computers, transport and other living expenses.Since 2009, over 8,500 alumni have answered the call. Their generosity has allowed us to offer over 80 scholarships to gifted students in need. This year we'd like your help to offer this opportunity to another 10 UNSW students.

Give the gift of opportunity to students in need

We all know education is important. But getting access to it isn’t always easy, only 1% of all higher education students are indigenous, just 16% are from low social-economic homes and only 1 in 5 students are from remote areas. The President and Vice-Chancellor’s scholarship provides talented kids from disadvantaged backgrounds with a chance at a brighter future.

“It was not an easy move… It was a big change culturally, coming to a bigger city, where I didn’t know anyone. I’m so grateful it (the scholarship) made all the difference to me and my family by relieving a great proportion of financial pressure.”

The problem isn’t just getting into university, but staying there

Creating more pathways and places at university for underrepresented groups is only part of the challenge. The biggest challenge is not just getting into university, but staying there. The living expenses and study costs of attending university are considerable, worsened for those who need to move away from home to study, or those who have dependents or families reliant on their income to survive.

“I have a single mum, who has supported me and my younger sister. This made it very hard to get up and move away, and to afford the cost of living and books. The Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Scholarship has helped ease the pressure and financial strain of studying”

Give back to the university that gave you a head-start

While a scholarship of $5,000 per year may not seem like much, it can be the difference between struggle and success for disadvantaged UNSW students. Your donation can give a first-year from a low income family the money to buy a computer and text books, an ambitious student the chance to focus on study instead of extra night-shifts, or an indigenous student from a remote area a ticket home for the holidays.

“The scholarship has been pretty damn crucial. It’s the equivalent of not having to work an extra 10 hours per week to cover rent,”

- Fourth year engineering student Simba Kuestler holds down a part-time job as a high school tutor and is a leader of Sunswift, UNSW’s solar race car team.

UNSW ASPIRE

ASPIRE is an outreach program that works with school students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds in schools across Sydney and regional New South Wales. Its aim is to increase their educational aspirations and help them access a university education. Visit the ASPIRE website to find out more.

How you can help

We ask you to reflect on the opportunities your UNSW education has given you since graduation.

How much would you pay to give them the same opportunity to study at UNSW that you had?

Where to Give

Our scholarship recipients

Natalie Tieck – Bachelor of Commerce (International)

"I grew up in Alice Springs and always knew I wanted to go to university so I could get a good job. As much as I enjoyed living in Alice Springs, I knew it wasn’t where I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I was keen to explore a new city outside of what I was familiar with and hope to do the same overseas after I graduate. I saw a Commerce degree at UNSW as the perfect step towards this dream.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Appeal scholarship helped me not only move halfway across the country to study, but also gave me freedom to spend time settling in. Going into my first year, I knew I would rather not work to begin with, to ensure I could find my feet academically and socially before committing to something like a part time job.

Alice Springs is a very different place to Sydney. Everyone is pretty familiar around town and it doesn’t take more than 10 minutes by car to get anywhere. The lifestyle is very relaxed and most people have a very casual attitude towards most things so you can take things as they come. This contrasts very heavily with Sydney which is fast paced and can leave you behind if you’re not proactive, which was one of the challenges I faced after moving. Sydney requires much more independence from students, both financially and personally, which was a tough thing for me to get used to. To be able to have access to scholarships like this one has aided me greatly in adjusting to this very different way of life.

I’m now happy to call Sydney home and this scholarship has played a pivotal role in getting me here. There are many students in a similar situation, needing to move to a big city in order to pursue their studies. I am so grateful for this scholarship which made all the difference to me and my family by relieving a great proportion of financial pressure, helping with the extreme transition."

Twoey Jones – Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws

“I attended a regional high school on the far north coast of NSW and my parents were not in a position to assist me financially to move out of home to study. I was a bit unsure above making such a massive life change, and whether I would even like studying law. But after my first semester I found the coursework to be engaging and challenging and I’m now going into my third year at UNSW.

The best part of the Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Appeal Scholarship is the freedom it gives you to participate fully in university life. On top of my classes, I have been involved with the UNSW Law Society, participating in mooting competitions and being a peer mentor. I have volunteered for student programs such as Yellow Shirts, which helps new students settle into UNSW during O Week and this year I was also elected onto the Student Representative Council. I am doubtful that I would have been able to pursue all these opportunities without the financial stability of this scholarship.

Don’t assume that just because a young person is capable of receiving an offer to study at UNSW, they will be in a position to accept it. For some students like me, external financial support is the only way they can afford to study at UNSW and access the life-changing opportunities that tertiary education can provide.

While many people might see university as a means to an end, career or otherwise, I saw the prospect of going to UNSW as a goal in itself. Now that I’m here, I want to make the most of the years I have left and get as involved as I can before I take all that UNSW has given me into the wider world."

Eden Gliksman – Bachelor of Civil Engineering

"My secondary studies were a bit more challenging than most. My school was a two hour bus trip away and at home we had no mobile reception and limited internet access. Without the Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Appeal Scholarship, I doubt I would have ever made it from Bowraville to Sydney.

Studying at one of Australia’s leading Engineering faculties is a dream come true for me. Since construction and architecture have always appealed to me, and I am keenly interested in physics, mathematics and chemistry, it seems that the path of Civil Engineering is the natural one for me. Engineering is an increasingly vital component of the modern world, and I hope that it can be a way for me to contribute back to society.

Having this income has allowed me to focus my energies on my studies and fulfilling my academic potential; and ultimately to be as prepared as possible to enter the work force as an Engineer.

Additionally, the money I have been receiving has permitted me the treat of the occasional flight home to my family and community back in Bowraville. This means I’ve been able to keep a strong connection with my local community and keep in touch with my rural background.

Receiving the Vice-Chancellors Alumni Appeal Scholarship made my transition easier not just because of the financial support, which alleviated a lot of my stress, but knowing that the donors recognise and appreciate the hardships I went through and the sacrifices I made is really motivating."